The Hope and the Bane
by andycapp
Summary: The tale of Harry Potter from receiving his Hogwarts letter to the end of his seventh school year- and beyond


The Hope and the Bane

Category: Harry Potter

Genre: Adventure, Romance

Language: English

Characters: All H.P characters

Summary: The tale of Harry Potter from receiving his Hogwarts letter to the end of his seventh school year- and beyond

 **Preface**

"BOY! GET THE POST!" "Yes Uncle" I sighed. I walked down the hallway to the front door where a small pile of letters sat on the doormat. There was a letter for Uncle Vernon, a utility bill and a heavy white envelope that looked new but felt like really old paper. There was a wax seal with some kind of emblem stamped into it. I turned it over to see who it was addressed too. I was shocked, the address was hand written: Mr Harry Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. "BOY, HURRY UP". The sound of Uncle Vernon shook me out of my shock and I tucked the letter into my back pocket. "I'll read that later tonight" I thought to myself. I gave the other two letters to my Uncle and went into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.

"HOW MUCH! WHAT DO THEY THINK WE'RE DOING HERE? RUNNING A LIGHTBULB TESTING FACILITY!" I groaned, "Doesn't he ever give it a rest", I thought.

Later that night, laying on my excuse for a bed, I listened. No sounds. I pulled the letter out of my pocket and looked at it. My first letter, ever. I broke the seal and pulled the paper out. It was the same as the envelope, like old parchment.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

What, it's a joke

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to offer you a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1st. we await your owl no later than July 31st.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Owl? It **is** a joke. I put the letter under my mattress and closed my eyes. Next thing I knew Aunt Petunia was banging on my door. "Get up, make breakfast boy"

July 31st came (Happy Birthday to me) and went and I heard nothing more about Hogwarts, Witches and Wizards

 **August 31** **st**

It was early, must have been no later than 6am when there was an almighty pounding on the front door. "WHAT THE HELL" I heard Uncle cursing, loudly. BANG, BANG, BANG-CRASH. "Harry, Harry, Where are ya? Harry" I heard a very loud voice calling me, I opened my door a bit and peeked out. What I saw freaked me out. There was a man, if you could call him that, standing in the hallway. He was wearing a long black coat and had a thick black beard, but the thing that made him stand out the most was his height. At a guess I would say he was nearly ten feet tall. He. Was. Massive. "Ah, there ya are. Stop hiding, we've got things to do" I heard footsteps on the landing. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU FREAK", screamed Uncle Vernon. "Shut up Dursley. I'm taking Harry to get his school supplies". Behind Uncle Vernon I saw Aunt Petunia and Dudley cowering. "Who are you?" I asked. "Names Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper", the giant replied. "Hogwarts!" I gasped, "You mean it's real". "Of course it is. Professor Dumbledore was wondering why you hadn't replied to your letter so he sent me to come and get you"

"I thought it was all a joke, and anyway, I didn't know how or where to reply to". At that, Hagrid laughed. "C'mon" he chuckled, "let get going. I'll explain everything on the way.

Chapter 1-The Sorting

Hagrid left me and all the other first years outside a giant pair of wooden doors. "So it's true then. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts", a boy with red hair was saying. "You don't look like a hero" I looked at him. "What do you mean?" I said. "Defeater of the Dark Lord, Saviour of the Wizarding world. Don't you know anything?" he scoffed. "No" I replied, "I don't know anything. Up until a month ago I didn't even know there was a Wizarding world" A blonde haired boy walked forward and put his hand out. "Draco Malfoy", he said "Don't worry about him. He's just an insecure idiot" I shook his hand. "So what happens now", I said. "Now we get sorted into our houses" the huge doors opened and we all filed into a great hall. A woman was speaking, "When I call your name, come up here, put the hat on and be sorted". The teacher began reading out a list of names. "Abbott, Hannah"

"HUFFLEPUFF", the hat yelled. "The hat talks? That's weird" I thought. "Bones, Susan" the hat shouted again.

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Boot, Terry"

"RAVENCLAW

"Brocklehurst, Mandy"

"RAVENCLAW"

Brown, Lavender went to Gryffindor and Bulstrode, Millicent went to Slytherin. "Granger, Hermione" and a girl with bushy brown hair walked up. There was a slight pause and then "RAVENCLAW"

A few other names were called and then it was "Malfoy, Draco". No pause. "SLYTHERIN. Draco walked to his table and gave me a quick nod. I nodded back before more names were called. "Potter, Harry". I walked up and put the hat on. There was a voice in my ear, "Hmm, difficult choice. Brave, loyal and intelligent. But I think-RAVENCLAW". Some more names and then, "Weasley, Ron". The red headed boy walked up. He looked nervous. "SLYTHERIN"

I looked over to Draco, he looked shocked. Last to be called was "Zabini, Blaise" who also went to Slytherin. The Headmaster stood up, said a few nonsense words, looked at me oddly and sat back down. A massive feast suddenly appeared and everyone started eating.

Next morning, after looking at my timetable I found my first lesson was Charms with Professor Flitwick who was only three feet tall. After wandering the castle for ten minutes with some of my new housemates, I found the classroom. It was-interesting- trying to levitate a feather, eventually succeeding after three attempts. Then it was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, History of Magic with Binns and Herbology with Sprout. The first week went by surprisingly quick and on Friday my first lesson was double Potions with the Slytherins. The Potions master was Professor Snape and Draco had told me he was strict and 'didn't suffer fools'. He was also head of Draco's house. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. As soon as he walked in everybody went deathly silent. Like the other teachers, took the register and paused at my name. When he'd finished he started explaining what potions entailed and suddenly looked at me. "Mr Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" I felt stupid. "I don't know sir", I said. Someone sniggered. "Ok, where would I find a Bezour? What on earth is a Bezour? "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"He said. I know this one. "They are the same plant sir", I said. "Yes Mr Potter, they are", Proffesor Snape replied. He then walked to the front of the class. Professor Snape continued," you are here to learn. If you knew everything, you wouldn't need to be here at all. Read these instructions and brew this potion. If". He waved his wand and writing appeared on a blackboard behind his desk. He paired us off and let us continue. I was paired with the bushy haired girl, Hermione. An hour later we were told to stop and clear up. Professor Snape was walking checking everyone's potions. When he came to mine, who I was making with Hermione, he looked at it and then said"Mr Potter, Miss Granger, not bad for a first attempt." I looked at Hermione and we both smiled. "Thank you sir" I said and we finished clearing up. As everyone was leaving Professor Snape called out"Mr Potter, a word if I may". I looked at Hermione, "I'll catch you up", I said. "Harry, I knew your parents." "How did you know them sir?" I asked. "We were students here at Hogwarts but I knew your Mother before we even started" he replied "What were they like? Try as I might, I can't really remember them" "We haven't the time for a trip down memory lane but suffice to say, your parents were top of their classes and your mother was just brilliant. If you study hard you'll become a powerful wizard like they were".

"Yes sir" I said. "By the way, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion called the living draught and a bezour is found in a goats stomach and cures most poisons", he added. "Have a good weekend".

(this is my first attempt at writing. Please bear with me. I would like reviews please.)


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